Right after finishing blowing the faces off thugs inMafia II, I was whisked into the chilled and comfortable mini-auditorium confines that housed theCivilization 5demo. I’ve playedCivonce or twice over the years and have never felt comfortable explaining what the game is or what each iteration brings to the table. But because I feel like playing the magician this afternoon, allow me to pull some fresh details out of my hat....

Tokyo is totally screwed now. Godzilla: Unleashed, previously announced for the Nintendo DS and Wii, is now coming to the PlayStation 2 later this fall. While Wii owners get to waggle all over the place to make King Ghidorah spit electricity out of his nose, the PS2 version of the title will feature exclusive monsters. Tiffhad a chanceto play the Wii version ofGodzilla: Unleashedat E3 earlier this year, and she came away mildly entertained....

I grew up withGolden Axe, which is why I desperately wantGolden Axe: Beast Riderto be good, even though the old school brawling sensibilities seem to have taken a back seat to vehicular monsters and there is STILL NO PLAYABLE DWARF! ARGH! While I continue to scream about not being able to play as a dwarf, cast your eyes over this small handful ofGolden Axescreenshots. There is an ogre in one of them....

Finally, a chance for PC gamers to tryAngry Birdswithout having to pay money. Now, when a friend asks if you’ve played the outrageously successful game, you can awkwardly proclaim “yes!” — and that can be the end of the conversation. You’re home free. There is, however, a downside. You have to download Intel AppUp — yet another one of those app storefronts — fromthis Best Buy link. The next step is signing up for an AppUp account, which requires a verified email address and a name....

Before our galaxy formed and the universe as we know it consisted of nothingness, i.e., a few weeks ago in Internet time,it was announcedthat expansion pack “Lost and the Damned” would go on sale the week of August 24th. It is now that week, so here we go. Starting around, uh, now, you should be able to download the first — and currently only available — downloadable expansion pack forGrand Theft Auto IVat 1,200 Microsoft Points....

I’m awful at every type of strategy whether turn-based or realtime, so I can only pass on the following news to you without making any evaluative statements. Brendon Chung, creator of the incredibleGravity Bone, has released a game about spaceships blowing up other spaceships. It’s calledFlotilla, and it’s a turn-based strategy game taking place in a fully 3D representation of space. When I say 3D, I’m not just referring to the graphics — I’m saying your ships can be manipulated on the X, Y,andZ axes....

Killzone 3will be available with no only Move support, but 3D support too, pretty much making it a PlayStation 3 feature showcase. As somebody who is still cynical about the benefits of 3D gaming, I askedKillzone 3senior producer Steven Ter Heide exactly what it is about the gimmickry that will enhance his game. “Quite simply, 3D is all about enhancing the sense of immersion,” he explains. “If you’re the type of gamer who likes to hang out on the couch with his friends and joke around while casually playing a few rounds ofKillzone 3, you’re probably not going to get a whole lot out of 3D....

One of the few original titles being published by Capcom and slated for release on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network,Rocketman: Axis of Evilcan be quickly summed up asSmash TVwith a dash ofGeometry Warsand some classics thrown in for good measure. Does that make it good or bad already? Well, no, not really. In fact, the game actually shows the kind of “fun potential” this new era of downloadable console games can offer....

Last night, THQ announceda new co-op modeforWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine. Exterminatus pits a squad of four Space Marines against increasingly intense waves of screaming Orks on a variety of maps. It’s scheduled to arrive — for free — thirty days after the game launches, which is …strange, to say the least. I got some hands-on time with Exterminatus ahead ofSpace Marine‘s launch. As a fan of both Warhammer 40,000andwave-based co-op modes, it’s looking set to pretty much be my perfect thing!...

The newMonkey Islandseries from Telltale started out with a bang. Brad Nicholson and I bothenjoyed it considerably. On Thursday, the next episode,The Siege of Spinner Cay,will be released. Can’t wait for a little fix of Guybrush Threepwood? Well, to hold you over until later in the week (and promote its release, I suppose), Telltale has sent us a brief trailer for the game. It’s not magnificent, but chuckle-worthy at the very least....

Electronic Arts has sent us some newSkate 2screens, no doubt getting us amped up for the game’s January 21 release. We get new screenshots.Stephen Totilo at MTV Multiplayer, on the other hand, the dude gets steaks. Yes, EA sent Totilo two Omaha Steaks as a “promotional item” forSkate 2. Because Totilo has journalistic integrity, he will likely refuse to eat the steaks, maybe even give them to a homeless shelter....

Namco Bandai’sSplatterhouseis going to be a gory, violent affair. I mean, the game has the word “splatter” in the title. Not convinced? The publisher has released about 4 minutes of in-game footage which shows the game’s muscle-bound, death mask wearing Rick pounding on baddies and other things that look like vaginas. Jimplayed the game at E3and seems to have a good time with it, as it met his expectations as a game where you mindless smash things to bits with blunt objects and slide things into pieces with chainsaws....

Heroesstar Masi Oka is the cutest thing ever (and I’m not saying that just because I have a hardcore case of nerd crush here). Honestly, if he told me he had dreamed up some movie idea about the real life of a firefly or something I’d likely sit there and hear him out. Thing is, Oka really did do something like that, and he came up with the idea while playingWorld of Warcraft....